


The Good Kind of Suprise

by Whovian_Overload



Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: Birth, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-13 02:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1209298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian_Overload/pseuds/Whovian_Overload
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River and the Doctor have a baby! This is the fiction of the pregnancy and birth of their child. I tried to make it a bit graphic because it annoys me when people just skip a birth. I do not own BBC or Doctor who. P.S. I gets better as you read</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Doctor never forgot an important day. Especially today. Today was his and River's anniversary, and he wanted to make it unforgettable. Retrieving River from the university, he whisked her off to the fifth moon of Endali. They went for a romantic stroll along the Kritect ravine and then to a play at the Weltimer theater. After a lovely dinner, the Doctor took her back to the TARDIS in time to see a beautiful super nova of red and pink explode in the sky. River looked at him with a huge grin on her face. This man, this kind kind, loving person always went out of his way to make things perfect. And it was, everything was perfect. "Thank you" she spoke softly before pulling the Doctor into a deep and passionate kiss. River already had ideas in her head about just the perfect way to thank him. She took his hand a led him to their bedroom. That was the beginning of a long and fantastic night. 

But the next day, River had to go back to the university. With a peck on the check, River left the Doctor to his shenanigans. She immediately launched her self back into her studies, spending most of her time in the library. Days and nights passed. River was hard at work, burying herself in her archaeological studies. But as usual, after weeks had passed, she began to miss the Doctor more than ever. 

River was in the library one night pretending to read. She sat at the table and had a book on ancient Godiste but she stared off into the dark corners on the library. Just thinking. Thinking about the Doctor. She was considering sending him a message to get his ass over here when she heard a noise. No one was allowed in here at night accept her because she had special permission. One hand slowly drifted down to the gun she always carried. River was standing now, on full alert. A tall shadow emerged from behind a bookshelf. The creature was wearing a suit and raised it's three fingered hand to point at River. She whipped her head behind her to see if there was any of them behind her...  
But she forgot  
Why was her heart pounding? Why was she standing up and holding her gun. She was looking at the weapon in her hand and noticed black lines covering the length of her right arm. Oh.  
She whipped back around and saw the creature for the first time (thousandth time)  
"Melody Pond..." It said in a raspy voice. "You will tell the Doctor"  
"What? Tell him what??" Her gun was pointing at it.  
"Tell him... The one thing that could make him afraid. That could turn more enemies on to him than there already are. Tell him-"  
"Shut up!" She screamed, not wanting it to finish the rest of its sentence. She without thinking, she shot at the creature and ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could. She didn't even look where she was going. River ran down the empty halls hoping against all odds that someone else would be there. Darting around a corner, she paused to catch her breath.  
Why was she running? She looked around at the empty halls, gun still clutched in hand. Wasn't she just in the library? She must've decided to take a stroll... no. That couldn't be right. She ripped her sweaty brow on the back of her hand, and stared in shock at the black smudges. Her face had a look of horror as she saw her arms covered with tally marks. How long had the Silence been here?  
In the distance she could hear something moving around. Probably looking for her. And she heard another noise. The TARDIS. River looked around the corner. There were several of the Silence. All on high alert. And behind them was the TARDIS. She only had one choice. At full speed, River charged towards the TARDIS's open doors, shooting in every direction the whole way there.  
She made it.  
The Doctor was there, circling the console saying things like "What has gotten into you? Just taking off on your own, why would you do that??" He rambled on as the TARDIS took flight again. It took several more moments for him to notice River standing there looking dazed. "Oh! River! That must've been it! She was bringing me to you! Oh brilliant! But... Why? Were you in danger? River?!" The Doctors face became full of concern as he saw every inch of visible skin illustrated with black lines.  
River couldn't move, she was still in shock. She couldn't remember very clearly what just happened. She was in the library, then she had her gun. Why did she have her gun? She remembered being in the hall. How did she get there? And she had looked at her arms as she was doing now. It was the Silence. She had been running from them. What did they want? The Doctor, not knowing what else to do, opened his arms to her, but she didn't move from her place. Only shook her head, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion. River sat down on the chair in the console room with her head in her hands. The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked in a sympathetic voice.  
River deep was deep in thought. She could hardly hear anything the Doctor was saying to her. "I have to tell you..." What was she saying? Why was she saying that? Attempting to speak again, she realized there were tears streaming from her eyes. The Doctor looked at her curiously. River Song never cried, not ever. Something had to be seriously wrong. Finding her voice, she managed to slowly talk. "Doctor... I'm pregnant." She paused. The look on his face was of shock, surprise, and a bit of excitement. "And the Silence knows."

After that day everything went basically exactly as River thought it would. The Doctor was overjoyed and terrified. Terrified at the danger his family was in, but overjoyed that there would soon be another Timelord in the universe. The Doctor insisted that she stay in the TARDIS to avoid any unwanted encounters with the Silence or any enemy for that matter. River agreed, though it did take over an hour of persuasion and a box of Jammie Dodgers.  
Over the next nine months, they were able to hide from any enemies who might want to take River or their baby, hiding in the nooks and crannies of the universe. 

The Doctor never trusted hospitals. Never fully, not even the one in New New York. River didn't particularly like doctors either. They always made her a little anxious and nervous because they reminded her of when she was little. So whenever it was time for a check up on the baby, there was only one place they'd go: Torchwood. The first time they went to the Torchwood base, River was about 16 weeks along, with just a small, but unmistakable, baby bump. River and the Doctor strolled down to the peer toward the visitor's entrance. Ianto was at the desk, reading the latest romance novel when they walked in. "Oh, Ianto! How lovely to see you again!" The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Been a while hasn't it! I've been very busy. You know, the usual..." He glanced at River and blushed. She stared back at him with a grin on her face. He was always so cute when he got embarrassed.  
"Um, I'm sorry. Who are you?" Ianto was confused at the man who had just waked in.  
"Right! Sorry, new face, see?" The Doctor made a ridiculous face as he showed off the new teeth he got when he regenerated.  
"Doctor?"  
"Yes! It's me! See? He remembers!" He smiled at River who couldn't care less about their reunion. She was getting impatient.  
"Anyway..." River interrupted the to. "We're here to see Jack, is he in?"  
Ianto looked a little dazed. He had never seen this woman in his life. She was beautiful, her golden curls cascaded down her neck and on to her back. Her blouse hugged her torso tightly and her boots were downright badass But pretty or not, he wasn't sure about just telling her where to find the immortal men he cared so much about. The Doctor looked between the two a bit awkwardly before realizing they hadn't met yet. "Oh right. Introductions! Um, River this is Ianto, Jack's coworker and boyfriend... I think?" He glanced at Ianto who nodded. "And, Ianto this is River" He paused "...my wife."  
Ianto looked stunned.  
"What?" River said "Is there something wrong?" She narrowed her eyes at Ianto.  
"N-no, I just..." Ianto swallowed. "I didn't ever think the Doctor would get married. Especially to someone as gorgeous as you..." He trailed off realizing he said that last part out loud.  
River relaxed and smiled, knowing this was a perfect opportunity to embarrass the Doctor further. "So you think I'm out of his league? Well, you're not the first." She laughed. The Doctor's face was red. This just made Ianto laugh along with River at the Doctor's obvious embarrassment. He was about to defend himself when River spoke up again."So" River finally caught her breath. "Is Jack in?"  
"Yes" Ianto nodded then reached behind the desk to pull a lever that River couldn't quite see. The wall behind him opened up to reveal a secret door. It was circular and stainless steel. River thought it looked a lot like the doors at Sormcage, but she kept that to her self. She and the Doctor entered the door and came to a large room.  
It was 10 meters high at least. There were lots of computers and in the center of the room was some unnamable contraption. There were also stairs that lead up to a balcony and offices. In the back, there were stairs that lead down to what looked like an autopsy room. They heard voices and some laughter coming from the offices above them and turned to look at who was here. A dark skinned woman in a lab coat and scrubs uniform was standing just outside an office talking to a tall man with great hair and a captain's uniform.  
"Martha Jones and Captain Jack!" The Doctor cheered at them. He was delighted to see his old friends again. The two people stopped talking and stared at the Doctor for a long moment.  
"Doctor?" Jack finally said "Doctor is that really you?" His tone changed from shock to excitement as he ran down the steps to greet him.  
"Yes, of course it's me! Why is everyone so surprised at that? Well, actually I'd be too..." Then he went on into long and detailed explanation on how and why he had regenerated and about everything that has happened with Amy and Rory and the Silence and so on and so forth. He paused briefly to hug Martha when she came up behind Jack. She told him about how she was married and they were thinking about kids.  
River and gotten somewhat board and a little sad at the mention of her parents, whom they had lost. She had wondered off to sit on the couch and munch on leftover biscuits that she had found.  
The Doctor was still glued to every thing that his friends were telling him. When Martha mentioned her husband he thought it would be a good time to introduce River. "Speaking of spouses, this is-" He turned his head to River, but she wasn't there. His head then darted in every direction before it landed on the couch that River was sitting on. She was happily eating a biscuit and smiled at his little panic.  
"Hello sweetie" She chuckled.  
"W-What? River-How did- but..." The Doctor stammered looking back and forth between the River and the empty space next to him.  
"I got board." She stated taking another bite of food. "And Baby got hungry." They hadn't yet chose a name for their baby, so River always referred to it as simply "Baby". The Doctor looked at River and then at his friends who were snickering at him. "Is there someone you were going to introduce me to, dear?" She said trying to not laugh, this was just too much fun.  
"B-but, I-" He said fumbling over his words. He sighed knowing that River was just toying with him for her own amusement. (Jack and Martha's, too) "right, um, Martha, Jack, my wife: River Song. River, Martha and Jack." His hands gestured back to his friends.  
"Pleased to meet you" Said River, bowing her head slightly in hello. "And I presume that you're the one doing the ultrasound?" She said to Martha. She was wearing a lab coat after all, she looked enough like a doctor for for her.  
"Ultra-? Oh, right! Yes, I'll be doing that." Martha had completely forgotten why Jack had asked her to come here, she was so busy catching up with the Doctor. "Shall we?" Martha and Jack lead the couple down to what they earlier thought was an autopsy room, but was actually doubled as amed bay. River hopped up onto the silver table. Jack handed her a pillow and she laid down. The Doctor was next to her, looking very anxious. That made Jack and River simle. Martha had rolled over a machine that looked like a small tv with a scanner attached to it. She held up a bottle of blue gel and lifted River's shirt up to expose her belly. "This'll be a bit cold." She said and squirted the substance on to River's skin. The cold feeling sent chills up River's spine. The Doctor took her hand as Martha put the ultrasound wand on top of the gel and moved at around. River and the Doctor stared intently at the screen which was displaying black and white lines. Martha pressed a few buttons and freezed the image of a person-like blob. "There." She pointed at the blob. "That's your baby. See? Head, arms, torso, and- oh." Her hands moved around the screen and stopped near the bottom of what she said was the torso. "Do you want to know the sex?" She smiled at the mesmerized parents. River snapped out of her daze and nodded.  
"Absolutely."  
This alerted the Doctor and he interrupted Martha before she could speak."What? No! I want it to be a surprise!" He frowned at them  
"Sweetie. Do you honestly think that you could handle five more months of not knowing? Really, it will drive us both mad."  
"But, I-" He cut himself off when River shot him a nasty glare. He would never win this one. "Fine." He grumbled.  
Martha looked between the two as if they'd change their minds again. "It's a girl." She said rather quietly.  
"See? Now that wasn't to bad now was it?" River teased the Doctor. He had completely forgotten about his little tantrum. He was smiling from ear to ear.  
"A girl." He repeated. "We're having a daughter!"  
"Better start thinking of names." Jack came to stand next to Martha. "I think Jacqueline is a good one, don't you think?"  
"Over my dead body." River rebutted. Jack laughed.  
The Doctor was still smiling, completely oblivious to their comments. He was paying attention to Martha who had continued on with tapping buttons and clicking a mouse. Soon a new image was present on the screen. "River, Jack, look at this!" There was a heart-line on the screen that would bump up every second.  
Thump-thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump.  
"She's full of Timelord!" River gasped.  
The Doctor leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "Our impossible child." He said  
"Here you go." Martha interrupted the moment and handed them a picture of the ultrasound.  
"She's beautiful." River said.  
"I'm just going to run a few tests. Human technology is very limited." Jack and Martha went back up the stairs to set up the tests.  
River and the Doctor were left alone in the med bay. He reached over and took a cloth to wipe the gel off of River. "Oh River Song. You never cease to amaze me."  
"So you're happy with me that Baby is a Timelord? Well you're the one to blame for that, darling."  
"I know" He helped her sit up and gave her another kiss. "But, you still amaze me, River. You're growing a whole new person and that, that is amazing."  
River gave a chuckle. "Well thank you, sweetie. You're not to bad yourself." The Doctor opened his mouth to protest that he was in fact amazing and not just not to bad, but River cut him off with more kisses. He didn't mind. Today was a great day. He saw his baby for the first time and found out that he wasn't the last Timelord any more. This was possibly one of the best moments of his life. And he got to share it with the people he loved.  
He was happy

River and the Doctor came back to the Torchwood base only a few more times: At 23 weeks, 30 weeks, and 36 weeks. Each time was basicly the same. The Doctor would spend at least ten minutes catching up to his friends. River usually got bored and went to see what was in the kitchen, but she eventually would be included in the conversation since she had became friends with them, as well. They would have an ultrasound. The Doctor would smile and kiss River and look smug about being a father. Then they would be off to the TARDIS usually go to satisfy River's cravings.  
The final time they came to Torchwood, River looked like she had swallowed a planet, as the Doctor thought. Her belly was very large and the Doctor thought she looked beautiful. River thought she looked like a beached whale. Her ankles hurt, her back ached most of the time, and a good nights sleep was almost never the case. River often vocalized her complains to the Doctor. But he was as happy as could be with a family on the way and was always quick to jump up to rub her back or ankles or lay next to her in the bed until she fell asleep.  
Martha and Jack had just gone up to get the alien tech for more tests, as usual. The Doctor sat River up, wiping off her belly and expressing his excitement through kisses and smiles. River sat there. Her face looked deep in thought, but her eyebrows furrowed just over so slightly. Bad thoughts. "Hey, you okay?" The Doctor asked, concerned. River shook her head.  
"No." Her eyes met with his. "I don't think I'm ready for this. I don't think I'm ready to be a mum." Her face was full of worries. He bent down eye level to River and held her hands tightly, much like he did when comforting Amy. Why was this the first time she mentioned this? He pressed his forehead to hers. "You, River, are ready. You'll always be ready. I know you, and I know that you are ready to protect our baby and love her with all of your heart. I know because you already have and that's what mothers do." he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Reassuring River was something of a challenge, but the Doctor knew what to say.  
But River still shook her head. "But what if she doesn't like me? What if she hates me? What if I can't protect her and..." Her voice quivered and she couldn't finish the sentence. But the Doctor knew what she was going to say. She was worried about the Silence taking their child and doing to her what they did to River. Raise her to kill. The thought made River want to cry, but River Song didn't cry, even if she was influenced by damn pregnancy hormones.  
"It's going to be fine, River. I promise that you and I won't let anything happen to this baby. And she will love you. I promise. That baby is half of me after all and I already love you, River song. My River Song, I love you more than time can tell and more than you could ever imagine."  
"Really?" River's voice was still shaky. She savored every one of those words, wanting and willing herself to believe them.  
"I promise. Don't you trust me?"  
River just pulled his head closer to hers and kissed him. For a long moment, their lips were pressed together and their tongues danced. River had always been a good kisser. "Always."  
And that was that. Martha and Jack sent them off, all tests normal and a few weeks until the due date.

River and the Doctor sat in the console room. The Doctor pranced around the TARDIS console pressing buttons and River sat in a chair reading the book: Timelord anatomy and growth - from conception to the last regeneration. The book had been like a bible to her through her pregnancy. It was one of the few books, or anything for that matter, that had any information about Timelord pregnancies. The Doctor flipped a more few levers and then plopped down next to her. "You know, River. That is the seventh time you've read that. Isn't twice enough?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.  
"Sorry." She paused her book. They both knew she wasn't though. "I'm just so excited! Only ten days to the due date and I want to be ready."  
He just smiled at her. He knew that the baby probably wouldn't actually come on that date that was expected. First children hardly ever do, but he had long given up reminding her that. "A Timelord always on time."  
"Timebaby" River corrected. "And a Timelady for that matter." She was excited at that part. She had been hoping for a girl and was joyful when they found out it was. She kissed him on the cheek and flipped few pages forward. "Look at this, Doctor." The pointed to a page labeled Medicine.  
"Well thats interesting." The page was close to blank and came with a warning. Something about no one knowing about what medicines were live safe or deadly.  
"Now what do you make of that?" River said. She had meant to show him earlier, but they were busy painting the nursery that the TARDIS had provided for them. She was happy that the walls were blank so that she and the Doctor could chooses a color together.  
"It means that no one knows what's deadly to a Timelord and giving any medicine could be lethal." He said as if it was obvious.  
River rolled her eyes at him. "I know that, Doctor. But what does that mean in terms of drugs during the birth? I'm not a full Timelady after all."  
"No epidural." He looked at her. "It's okay, River. You're strong. I know you'll be fine."  
"I know, sweetie, but if you were just told you had to squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of a very small hole in your body with no pain medication, I think you'd be a little nervous, too." She sighed and got up from the couch with a bit of difficulty. She chuckled seeing the Doctors face trying to imagine what she just described, then the waddled off to the library to put the book back. The Doctor watched her leave and he smiled forget momentarily about the watermelon. How he loved his wife.

Ten days came and went. Ten turned to twelve and eventually seventeen. Normally, labour would be induced, but no medicine had its drawbacks. River awoke in the night to Braxton-Hicks contractions and a bad back ache. She was sick of them. Every time she thought they were real. She would be so excited and tell the Doctor. But by the time he would be finished with flailing his arms in panic and run back to whatever room she was in, she realized that they weren't real. She hated the false hope. She just wanted the baby out already.

She sighed getting out of bed as quietly as she could without waking up her husband. As the day their child was born grew ever so closer, the Doctor became more worried. The Silence clearly already knew about her pregnancy, but who else? The Daleks? The Cybermen? The Shadow proclamation? His head often grew heavy with the fear that anything would happen to his family that he tried so hard to protect. He had nightmares every time he closed his eyes. This was one of the first nights that he hadn't tossed and turned.  
River stood and moaned softly in discomfort. Pacing back and forth she knew that these were not real. She would not be tricked again by these damn false pains. She tried to think of a way to relieve the pain. Walking did nothing, so she leaned over her dresser. Nothing. She sat on the couch. That just made it worse. "Jesus, Baby. Are you planning on keeping me up the whole bloody night?" Giving up, River walked into a bathroom. It was one of the large ones with a stainless steel bathtub big enough for five. The TARDIS hummed. "That really wasn't necessary." River told the TARDIS. "But thank you, I suppose."  
The water was already filled when she walked in and at the perfect temperature. River stripped off her nightie leaving on her sports bra. She stepped into the warm water and smiled at the relief it gave her. She let the water seep into her sore muscles and relax her. The pain in her back was nearly gone. She leaned over the side of the tub, resting her head on its cool sides. She looked around the room. She had never been in this one before. There was a shelf of towels next to the shower on the far wall. On the other side of the room, there was a large closet full of ... medical supplies? Now why would the TARDIS but that in here?  
The TARDIS hummed an answer that made River's eyes grow wide.  
She turned her attention back to the pain in her torso. The braxton-Hicks that she had felt before were now stronger and at constant seven minute intervals.  
She was in labor.  
River breathed feeling a wave of panic. "Okay. Okay" She said to herself. Everything was fine. They had supplies and nothing was wrong. Except maybe the fact that the Doctor was still asleep. She was about to get up and wake him, when the TARDIS made and angry noise in protest. She should stay put. River rolled her eyes because that left her with one choice. "Doctor!" She bellowed. The sound of her voice echoed through the TARDIS. She waited a few moments but heard nothing. "DOCTOR!!" She tried again, this time hearing the startled noised and panicked squeaks that the Doctor made when not seeing River by his side. She knew that waking up to find her gone would give him heart attacks, but it was what had to be done.  
He rushed towards the bathroom in a night shirt and his boxers, sonic in hand. His face was a white as a sheet and there were tears in his eyes. His heart were pounding hard and his chest was moving up and down rapidly. She knew he would be upset and even scared, but she never thought this scared. His he ran into the bathroom and knees buckled. He was kneeling in front of the bathtub, a tear running down his face. "I-I" he began in a shaky whisper, his hands reaching out for her. "I thought..." But he couldn't finish.  
River cupped his face in her hands and pulled her face towards his. She kissed him again and again, feeling terrible about the fear she had caused him. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm right here, Doctor. I'm right here." She stroked the tears away from his face and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their foreheads were pressed together as his breathing steadied.  
"You're okay." He told himself. "She's okay." He opened his eyes to look her in the face "Don't ever do that to me again." He kissed her forehead. "Ever."  
"I won't." River smiled. "I promise."  
They sat there, the Doctor catching his breath. A few moments passed before he spoke again. "You woke me up, River...?"  
"Yes"  
"You screamed my name, that wasn't part of my dream"  
"Yes"  
"Why?"  
"The baby's coming."  
"What?!" He jumped up. The color left his face again. He stepped left. Then right. He couldn't decide what to do so he sat himself down in front of River once more. "You're in labor."  
"Yes"  
"Like, contractions, pain, panting." He then demonstrated by puffing his cheeks out a few times. He looked absolutely ridiculous.  
"Yes" River chuckled.  
"Our baby. Like actually coming into this world. Right now?"  
"Yes" Her voice was like a whisper and a hand held his face. He seemed calmer now that he had actually realized and accepted what was going on. He got up and moved his legs to help him think straight.  
"Do we need to get Martha? Or to the med bay? You can't have the baby in the water, can you? What if something goes wrong?" His voice was not panicked, but very serious. He needed to figure out what to do.  
River just smiled at her idiot of a husband. "Doctor the water is a fine if not better place to give birth than a hospital bed. And look around." He saw that the TARDIS had already stalked the room with anything needed.  
"Oh" He said quietly.  
"See? We don't need Martha. Everything is perfectly fine. We just nee-" River stopped mid sentence and groaned. She gripped the sides of the tub and shut her eyes tightly. She had been having contractions though her conversation with him, but had hardly noticed them. She was too busy calming him and telling him things were okay. Now that the spotlight was on her, all her attention was back on the pain radiating from her middle. The contractions now would come out of nowhere with little to no warning. She whimpered and took a few deep breaths before she relaxed again.  
The Doctor was at her side rubbing her arm. She looked up at him as the pain ebbed. His eyes were wide and his face in shock. He had hardly ever if not ever seen River in pain. Or at least pain that she showed. "What do I have to do?" His brain kicked into overdrive. Anything that made his beloved wife whimper in pain was something that had to be taken very seriously, even if it did involve having to deliver their baby.  
"You need to get some supplies." She pointed a finger to the shelf. "Scissors, clamps, bulb suction, and a load of towels." She had clearly done her homework.  
The Doctor ran over and started to grab the listed items then paused. "River, what the heck is a bulb suction?"  
"It's looks kind of like a turkey baster with a short nozzle and it's blue."  
The Doctor easily found the items and rushed back to her side. "Okay now what. Do you push? Do I catch her?"  
"Oh you really are a complete idiot." But she had expected that much from him. "You have to check how dilated my cervix is. I can't push until I'm at 10 centimeters."  
"I what?"  
"My cervix, dear." She said through gritted teeth as her abdominal muscles tightened again.  
"I have to..." He gulped. "B-but..."  
"Doctor, there's nothing there you haven't felt before" Rivers voice was stern. Now was not the time to argue with her. He took a calming breath and plunged his hand into the water. His face was a bit awkward and squeamish as he felt around. Eventually his hand emerged and he wiped it on a towel. "This much" He announced holding his thumb and forefinger away from each other.  
River groaned. "That's only seven centimeters" She rested her head back down on the side of the tub and focused on her breathing.  
"It's better than nothing" He smiled at her. She looked so peaceful. Her features were calm and her eyes closed. One arm was tucked under her head as a makeshift pillow and the other hanging loosely over the side of the tub. The Doctor leaned forward to kiss her, then stroke her hair. That was one of his favorite parts about her. It was like a halo around her head that cascaded down her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to her beautiful golden curls and brushed them away from her face. Her face so beautiful. She opened her emerald eyes to look at him.  
"Hey" She said. It was close to a whisper, but full of excitement.  
"Hey yourself." He beamed at her. She was so brave going through all of this. She had had many worries about being a mother because of her past with Kovarian. She was afraid the she couldn't protect their daughter and she was afraid of the kind of mother she would be. But she had made it this far and she seemed ready. He knew she could do this.  
"You've got that face on" She said  
"What face?"  
"You're thinking face. The face you have when you get lost in your thoughts. It's usually about something that's worrying you." She said, concerned.  
"Nothing's worrying me. I promise you." He bopped her on the nose "I was just thinking about what a wonderful mother you're going to be." He leaned in to kiss her but instead of the playful quiet moan she often made when he did, he heard a rather uncomfortable groan that sounded like she was in pain. He pulled away a bit surprised, but not that much, to see her face etched in pain. He reached for her hand which was clawing at the metal tub. Immediately he felt like his hand would break, but he didn't care. "Breath, River."  
She glared at him ready to bite his head off, but exhaled as the pain passed. "I hate this." She said. "I don't think I can do it." She searched the Doctor's face for any reassurance.  
"Of course you can do it" He stroked her cheek. "You're already doing it, River, and you're at the home stretch. It's almost over."  
"How do you know that? I haven't even begun to push. How do I even know when to push?"  
The Doctor put a finger to his lips. "Timelord stamina. You're stronger than a human mother. Pushing will go faster." He didn't mention that it was still going to be painful, if not agony. "And listen to your body. Your body will always know what to do." He said with confidence.  
River gave a silent nod. The contractions were closer together now, she had only a few moments before the next one. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her baby. She could feel it's head, like a soccer ball pressing down on her cervix. The pressure was immense and grew until it was almost unbearable. River was groaning with out realizing it an let out a sudden gasp of pain. "I need to push." She said out loud in realization that she had been trying not to.  
The Doctor moved more in front of her, his hearts beating harder than they should be. He knew he shouldn't be that nervous, not even being the one giving birth but he couldn't help it.  
Without even thinking twice about it, River bore down as hard as she could. She grabbed on to the sides of the tub as she did so. She cried out as she felt her birth canal stretch far past it's limits to accommodate the large head forcing though it. "Uunghh!" After a few more pushes, the Doctor could see the skin of River's opening start to bulge out as the head slowly emerged. River could feel her self stretch and it burned. Her knuckles were white from holding on to the tub so tight.  
"What should I do?" The Doctor said, realizing that he didn't know if he should help or not.  
"Y-you need to help the head out!" She said hoarsely through clenched teeth.  
The Doctor, face panicked, plunged his hand into the water and used his fingers to spread apart the skin and support the baby's head as is came out.  
"Aaghh!" River pushed again, forcing the head all the way out. Her insides burned and every muscled in her body cried out in agony. She stopped to catch her breath, leaning to rest her sweaty forehead on the Doctors shoulder. Her chest heaved up and down fast and sweat glistened on her forehead. "You need..." She breathed "To check... if the c-cord is wrapped around h-her neck." She gasped out, exhaustion dripping in her voice.  
He did as he was told, feeling around the infant's neck. There was something there. Something sort of squishy, but rope like. "There's something there. I-I think it's the cord." He announced.  
River's hearts dropped. She had to think fast. "What color is she?" She asked urgently, forgetting about anything that didn't have to do with helping their child.  
"What?" The Doctor said a little taken back. He glanced into the water deciding not to question it. He could see his daughters head sitting right in between River's legs. She was facing upward, unusual, but it allowed him a first glance at her face. "Reddish-pink". He looked up at River. "I can see her face, River. She's so beautiful." He smiled.  
She had been so relieved to her that she wasn't blue or purple that she didn't really hear the part about her face. "It's not choking her. You need to get the cord away from her neck, Unwrap it, but carefully."  
He nodded silently as she wrapped her arms around his neck for support and winced again. He had to put his attention on their baby. He slowly unwrapped the cord from the baby's neck. As soon as he did, River grunted and he could see as well as feel their baby turn sideways. "What's happening?" He said concerned.  
"It's t-turning so the shoulder c-can pass." She said in obvious discomfort. She groaned again and bore down, arching her back and letting out a scream. "Aaugh!" One shoulder slipped out, then the other. She stopped to catch her breath again. Her face was red red with effort. "God." She breathed. "I can't do this any more. It hurts too much. " She said shaking her head.  
"Yes you can, River. You can do this." He took one of her hands and lead it down to where he was supporting their baby. River gasped as she felt the tiny body. "That's our daughter." He smiled at her. That was all the motivation she needed. Bringing both of her hands down, she gave out a final cry of pain as she pushed again. "Ungh!" She felt her baby slip out of her. Both pairs of hands bringing their child the surface of the water.  
Still gasping and panting, River held her daughter in her arms and looked upon her face for the first time. The Doctors eyes were watery. He kissed his wife, and then his wonderful child. "You did it." He let out a laugh. "We have a daughter!"  
"We have a daughter." She repeated. She was smiling from ear to ear, equally as happy as the Doctor was. "Hi" She stroked the wriggling infants cheek. "Hello there. It's so nice to finally meet you." She was exhausted, but despite wanting to close her eyes, all she could do was stare at the beautiful baby in her arms. "Welcome to the TARDIS"

They sat there in the bathroom for at least an hour, cooing and smiling over their new addition. They hardly even noticed when the placenta came out a few minute later.   
It was only when their daughter drifted off to sleep did they look at the time.   
“Blimey! It’s past midnight.” Exclaimed the Doctor.   
“Hmm?” River was still looking at the baby and didn’t even notice what he said. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes. He chuckled  
“You need to go to bed, River.” She nodded in agreement. For the most part, she wanted to be out of the water that was now foggy with blood and amniotic fluid.   
“I could use a shower.”  
“Tomorrow.” He said. He took the infant from her arms, placing her in a basket so he could help River out of the tub.   
They walked back to the nursery, the baby in River’s arms and River in the Doctor’s. They went into new door was just down the hall from their room. The TARDIS had provided a nursery since they never actually built one.   
River was quite impressed with it. The wall were painted a deep midnight blue with stars and planets to look like the universe. The Doctor’s old cot was in the middle on the room, next to it was a rocking chair and a bookshelf.   
“It’s amazing.” River whispered so she wouldn’t wake the baby. The Doctor smiled. She strolled over to the cot, gently placing their daughter in it. She stood, watching her sleep until the Doctor came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.   
“You coming?’  
“Yeah… I just can’t take my eyes off her. I don’t really want to leave her.” She admitted.   
“You’re not leaving her. We’re right down the hall. If she needs anything, we’ll be right there.”  
River nodded her head. They slowly made their way back to their bedroom, River glancing behind her as they left.   
She slept soundly for the next couple of hours. No more aches and pains, just the new and familiar feeling of an empty womb. She snuggled up against the Doctor chest as she drifted to sleep, only to a wake hours later to the loud wails of their baby.   
River joted up straight, startled by the noise. She had never really heard babies cry before and the sound scared her, mostly because it was just someones baby, it was hers. She jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hall. Her hearts were beating in her ear when she reached the nursery. It was the same as when she left, cot still where it was. She approached the crib. In it was still her baby, as she’d left her. Though now her face was red and her sobs coming from her mouth. River scooped her up and hugged her tight. She rubbed her back and bounced slightly to calm the child. “There, there. Mummy’s got you. You’re okay.”   
She repeated until she calmed down.   
The Doctor came into the room a few minutes later to find her nursing their daughter in the rocking chair. He rubbed his eyes, still a bit tired, but smiled at his family. “You two make quite the pair.”  
She looked up at him and smiled back. He came over next to her and placed a kiss of her head. “Heard her crying.” He said.  
“Yeah. She was hungry.” She readjusted her nightie when the the baby was done.   
“You got out of bed so suddenly.” He pointed out.   
“Well I thought…” She paused, looking for the right words. “I’m not used to this. I’m not used to being a mother. I’m not used to having someone depend on me. So when I heard I just thought… I wasn’t really thinking. I just assumed she was in danger.”   
“You’ll get used to it.” He told her. “It’ll become normal. There’ll be a time where you can’t imagine it not being this way.”   
“Yeah, well. That’s a long way away. “I mean, look. We made a whole other person.” She gestured to the child in her arms. “That’s amazing, it really is but I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of responsibility.”  
The baby reached her arms up to River, making a sort of happy giggling noise.  
“She thinks you’re ready.” He said. “She think’s you’re doing a wonderful job so far and so do I.”  
River grinned. “I forgot you spoke baby.”  
“I speak everything.” He said smugly. “And you know something else? She needs a name.”   
“Hmm.” She thought. “Names are always so hard. What do you think?” She asked the baby.   
“No, we are not going to call you ‘the Ruler’” The Doctor translated.   
River giggled. “I want her to have an Earth name So no Timelord names like the Ruler, or the Muse, or Doctor Jr.”  
“How about Emily? Or Addison? Dainah maybe?” He listed.   
“None of those seem right. Phoebe? No…” She started going over named in her head. Lily, Heather, Claire, Ursula, Sarah, Rachel, Anya, Mirah… “How about Taliah?” She finally said. “We could call her Leah for short.”  
“I like it. Taliah Song. What do think, Leah? Is that a good name?” Leah babbled and clapped her hand together.   
“What’s she say?”  
“She said ‘It’s not as good as the Ruler, but I’ll let it slide if that can be my teddy bear's name.’”  
River laughed as he retrieved the stuffed bear from the crib. “There was re then. Taliah and her faithful bear, the Ruler.”   
They spent the morning playing with Leah, telling her stories, and singing to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really had no idea what to do since I thought it was done so I'm going with: we skipped ahead a bunch of years and threw in another baby and a dangerous situation from an episode that technically takes place after all of this. --because clearly time skips and dangerous situations solve everything-- Leah is three and River's at full term with their second child. (The Doctor spent a year convincing her to have another one.) I've decided that his is a bit of a rewrite of 'Nightmare in Silver' --Chapter help from/inspired by Random Foxy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea there was anyone who was actually paying attention to this story, but when I checked there were a lot of you so I thought 'what the hell, let's make a new chapter even though I said it was complete'. And for the record, I have much improved on my writing since I wrote this so this shouldn't be as terrible as I thought the other ones were. I have no idea why you like this  
> Also I might be a bit fuzzy on the details of Nightmare in Silver so forgive be if I get things wrong

"Doctor, can you help me?" River walked into the control room of the TARDIS with her hands on her hips. "Leah refuses to put her shoes on. I've tried everything!"  
The Doctor laughed a bit, "Leave it to me." He said and walked in Leah's room. Leah always listened to the Doctor more than she did to River. He kneeled in front of her and grinned. "So! I heard that you don't want to put your shoes on!" He said and poked her nose.  
Leah crossed her arms, looking quite grumpy. "I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here!"  
"Oh but why do you want to stay here? Think about how much fun we'll have! It won't be the same without you..." He said and pouted.  
"Because I wanna wear my princess shoes." She pointed to the little plastic high heels that were half buried under all of the dress up clothes. "And mummy won't let me!"  
"Well, what if daddy turns your normal shoes into sparkling diamond shoes?" He asked as he looked at the princes shoes.  
Her eyes lit up. "Really? How can you do that?"  
He grinned again and took out his sonic. "I can do anything!" He said and got up as he thought of a way to actually do that. "Come on!"  
Leah marched down the hall after her father who had her sneakers in his hands.  
River gave them a quizzical look as they came down the hallway to her. "I thought you were trying to get her shoes on."  
"Oh that's exactly what we're gonna do!" He said. "We're gonna turn the shoes into diamond princess shoes!" He said and picked Leah up.  
"How?" River had stolen his sonic enough times to know that there was no setting that could turn shoes into diamonds.  
"Daddy can do anything!" Leah squealed. The Doctor went close enough to River to whisper, ''Get glue and blue and silver glitter."  
She rolled her eyes and walked, well, more like waddled, to one of their supply closets. Over the years it had become full of crayons, markers, glitter, and a lot of Leah's drawings. She searched around for the glitter and glue before returning to them.  
He put Leah down and kneeled to be her height. "Now daddy's gonna turn your shoes into diamonds but you have to promise me that you won't look, or else the magic won't work!" He said and he looked at her with a serious face. "Do you promise?"  
"Cross my hearts." She made an ex over each if her hearts with her finger then shut her eyes tight and covered them with her hands for good measure, but couldn't stop grinning.  
The Doctor hurried, took the shoes, put them on her feet, and started decorating them with the glitter, making them look as if they were actually make or diamond.  
Leah squirmed impatiently. "Are you done?"  
"Aaaaalmost..." He said as he finished with the final details. River couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous her husband was.  
"Aaaaand... done!" He announced happily and hid the glitters and the glue behind his back.  
Leah eagerly uncovered her eyes, staring down in wonder at her new diamond shoes. She squealed happily and flung her arm around him. "Thank you daddy!!"  
He picked her up and spun her around. "Who da man?" He asked and laughed.  
"You are!" She cheered. She loved when he spun her around. River beamed their ridiculousness. Since Leah was born, the Doctor seemed to have become even more childish than he was before. He finally stopped spinning her and put her back on the chair. River had decided to sit down so Leah crawled into her lap.  
"Next stop: Hedgewick's World of Wonders!" The Doctor spun around the controls and the TARDIS lurched.  
"You promised to use the stabilizers." River scolded, nearly getting knocked out of her seat. He turned the stabilizers on, trying his best not to complain about it making everything boring. The TARDIS landed smoothly and River looked down at the excited little girl in her arms. "Ready?" Leah bounced out of her lap and ran to the door, not bothering to answer her mother. The Doctor ran after her before she could protest, making sure Leah wouldn't get too far from them, leaving River alone. "I'll take that as a yes." She chuckled to herself, standing up and sighing through another braxton-hicks. It was the third one since she woke up and she really wasn't in the mood for them. Her back already ached and she still had a day at the amusement park to go. She shrugged it off and went to join her husband outside. She wasn't very surprised to see his hands up and someone(s) holding a gun to him while Leah hid behind his legs. That seemed to happen when every he left his little blue box.  
"This planet is under the protection of the imperial guard! Drop your weapons, now!" The woman in front demanded.  
"No. No weapons!... golden ticket!" He defended, pulling out the gold slip from his pocket. "Spacy zommer!... Free ice cream!" He bounced to exaggerate his point.  
"Who are you? How did you get on this planet?" She stood her ground, making sure he was no threat.  
"I think this will tell you what you need to know." The Doctor said as casually as he could, flashing the psychic paper at her.  
The woman lowered her gun as did the rest of her platoon before saluting him. "Sorry about that. Welcome, Imperial Council. If there's anything we can do for you we are at your command." She nodded at him, moving her troops out.  
"Care to share what that was about?" River asked, picking up Leah who was not very happy about all of what just happend.  
"Er... I'm not sure. Why would they be guarding an amusement park?"  
"They're not. It's a punishment platoon." River and the Doctor turned their heads to see a rather beat up looking man step out from behind the wall he was hiding behind. "The name's Wibbly." He extended his hand to River, but she didn't shake it, holding Leah a bit closer to her. Wibbly look his hand back awkwardly. "Are you my rescue team by any chance?"  
The Doctor shook his head. "No. We're here for the spacy zoomer." His tone was a bit disappointed that they weren't already on the ride.  
"I didn't think so. They were supposed to get here six months ago." Wibbly sighed in disappointment.  
"Why would there be a punishment platoon in an amusement park? What do they do, sell soft drinks?" River raised an eyebrow.  
"It used to be an amusement park." Wibbly gestured for them to follow. They went around the corner. They could see the whole amusement park from where they were. It looked hollow and abandoned. "It's been like this for a while. I wish they'd told me that before I came here." He suddenly grinned at the confused family. "Do you like chess?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just a back ache, just a back ache." River told herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REALLY sorry that took so long to update. Comments are welcome!

 

"Cyberman, get down!" The Doctor and Leah ducked when Wibbly uncovered the silver man from the sheet it was under. River had immediately drawn her gun and was just about to blow the head off of it when Wibbly told her to stop. She didn't put her gun back into it's holster until he had fully explained that this was a non-active one only here to beat them at chess. She suspiciously kept one hand on the get, just in case, as the Doctor and their daughter slowly stood up.

"It only costs a penny to play and if you win you get five imperial shillings." Leah looked on her tip toes at the chess board. She had played chess with her parents a number of times before, her father always letting her win, but she didn't know that.

"I have some chocolate." She put a half eaten bag of M&Ms on the table.

Wibbly pretended to ponder her offer before taking the bag. "Done." He discreetly tapped the table with his cane as Leah climbed up onto the chair. The Cyberman sat up straighter and moved one of the pieces. Their game lasted a good twenty minutes which surprised Wibbly but not River or the Doctor. They knew their daughter was absolutely brilliant even if the shell of a cyberman could managed to beat her at chess.

"If you can tell me how it works, I'll give you a shiny penny." He told the girl.

"I think... you do it with mirrors?" She guessed, scanning over the Cyberman.

"No, but for you miss," He pretended to pull a silver penny from her ear and she smiled excited by the magic trick.

The Doctor meanwhile was looking over the set up and rambling on about the brains until he opened a small compartment and out walked a man no taller than Leah. "Hello, I'm the brains." He said, stretching. "It's good to be out of that box. I'm Porridge, by the way."

Leah paid no attention to the new man, giving her new treasure to her mum for safe keeping. "Spacey Zommer now?" She asked.

River nodded. The sooner they went on the Spacey Zommer the sooner they could go home and make the Doctor rub her aching back. She turned her attention to Wibbly. "How soon can you get that Spacey Zoomer up and running?"

 

* * *

 

Leah was still giggling as the Spacey Zoomer powered down and they stopped bouncing around. "I want to go again!" She cheered.

River smiled but shook her head, "It's time to go back home, sweetie. You have to eat lunch and your mummy is getting a bit tired." She rested a hand on her belly to emphasize her point.

"Actually, we're not leaving just yet." the Doctor told her.

She frowned, "Well why not?" She had been looking forwards to a back rub.

"Insects. Funny insects. I should add them to my funny insect collection."

" _You_ collect funny insects?" It wasn't really a question. Of course that was something that he would do.

"Yeah... I'm about to. Right now." He muttered to himself, scanning the ground with his eyes.

"Doctor, you promised not to get into any trouble or 'investigate' anything." Knowing the Doctor, the word 'trouble' and 'investigate' went very well together.

"Trouble? Who says there's trouble?" He strolled back over to her and kissed the side of her head. "Half an hour, then we're off."

She crossed her arms and grumbled at him. "Fine. Half an hour and no more."

 

* * *

 

 

"But I'm not tired, mummy!" Leah protested as her mother tried to get her to settle down on the couch in Wibbly's lounge.

"Sweetie, it's only for a little while until daddy finds what he's looking for." She helped Leah under her blanket. She really just wanted to take a nap, herself. It would be easier if she didn't have to watch  after Leah.

Leah pouted at her mother and reluctantly settled into the couch. River smiled and walked around to her side, sitting with a sigh of relief. The ache in her back was only getting worse, but she hoped a good nap would rid her of it.

Leah waited a good ten minutes before peering over the edge of the couch at her sleeping mother. She slowly crept off the couch and to the door, not wanting to wait around and sleep.

\-------------------------

Leah looked around the halls for the goofy looking man with a sonic and a bowtie. Eventually she heard the sounds of people, though, was a little more than disappointed when she wandered into the area with the soldier-like people that had pointed guns at the earlier. "Where's daddy? I want daddy!" She huffed and squirmed, as a lady with a badge picked her up from off the ground.  As if on cue, the man in question walked into the area, immediately going to towards his daughter and taking her back from the soldier.

"Leah, what are you doing here? You should be with your mother!" He scolded, holding her protectively away from the people in uniform.

"Mummy's sleeping and I don't wanna sleep! I wanna play!" The girl insisted, trying to get back on the ground. He set her down, taking her hand in his.

"Turns out mummy's not very asleep." Both heads looked up to see River in the doorway, hand rubbing her back. "You gave me quite the scare when I woke up to see you gone." She told Leah. She would've sounded more reprimanding if she wasn't so tired. The very little sleep she got was restless and disturbed by the pain in her back, which she was starting to think wasn't back pain at all. "Doctor, are we ready to go? I'd really like to get out of here..." She tried not to sound in too much of a hurry.

"Er- actually... about that." He rubbed the back of his head , avoiding looking her in the eyes.

She stared at him in disbelief, "Don't tell me..."

"It's Cybermen, River. They're here." He told her in a low voice. This only wanted to make her leave the place even more.

"Doctor, I don't want our daughter near those things. I don't want her in danger. We are leaving. Now."

"But, River, I have to stop them! They could easily find their way to another planet and 'upgrade' every one on it." He countered, standing his ground. This earned him an icy glare from River.

"We are not putting Leah in that kind of dang-"

"Mummy!" They were interrupted by Leah's cry of fear as she ran to cling to her parents legs. She pointed to where her parents had entered, a silver man now standing there.

Everything happened far too fast for Leah to really understand what was happening. Her mother scooped her up and was holding her very tightly as she moved behind the makeshift barriers the platoon had created. She tried to follow the silver man with her eyes as it came towards them, but it was too fast for anyone in the room to realize where it was until it wrenched a screaming Leah from River's arms and knocked her to the ground.

"NO!" Rover cried, pushing herself back up.

"Mumma!!" The girl screamed and kicked, but as quickly as the silver man was here, it was gone.

River stood there, frozen, her hearts pounding so hard against her chest that they were bound to break her ribs. Any plead for her child was caught in her throat. The Doctor stepped in front of her, his face as pale as hers as he tried to look her in the eye.

Before he could open his mouth, River was banging on his chest. "You get her back! You get her back right this damned instant! You bloody idiot, we should have left when I first told us to!" She didn't realize she was crying until he wiped a tear from her check with his thumb.

"River... I-"

She pushed him away, furry beginning to rise under her skin. "No! Don't you dare try to comfort me when this is your fault! You did this! And I will never forgive you don't get her back!"

He nodded solemnly, looking at his feet. "...I'll get her back, River." He murmured. "I'll get her back. Captain, a word please!"

The woman who was wearing the badge approached him. "What do you want?"

"Do you do much fighting?"

She looked away from him. "No." She muttered and at his slightly confused look she added, "What do you expect? We're a punishment platoon."

The Doctor sighed. "That's what I was afraid of." He took her badge and pinned in on River's shirt. "Which means I'm putting you in charge. Don't die and don't let them blow up the planet. I'll be back. Get to somewhere defensible." And with that he was off to find his daughter.

 

* * *

 

"Cyberia class weapons. I'm taking it out of storage." The former captain informed River.

"Good." River nodded, somewhat waddling along after the woman, with her hand supporting her back. She was still red eyed, but the troops elected to ignore it as most understood that River upset. "We need to find somewhere defensible."

They walked up to a large map of the whole amusement park, the woman taking out a pointer and pointing to several easily defensible places. Listing them off, River decided the castle was the best place they could go.

"Ma'am..." She put her pointer away. "My men can deal with one Cyberman, but there are protocols if there are more and we cannot destroy them instantly."

"You mean blowing up the planet?"

"Respectfully, ma'am-"

"No. We are not blowing up the planet. Not until my daughter is in my arms, not until I know my family is safe." She gave her an icy glare. "You're under my command now."

"...Yes." It was clear she didn't want to be. "Ma'am."

 

* * *

 

 

"Who's River, why are you thinking about her so much?" The Cyber Planner sneered.

"Enough. Get out of my head!"

"Fascinating, a complete mental block, highly effective... River, River, River. Who is she? Ohh, someone special. Very special." He snickered. "Would you like it if I hurt her? What fun that would be."

The Doctor struggled, pushing, fighting against his own mind. He would die before he let this thing go anywhere near his wife.

"Oh, relax. Just relax and you will find this experience quite pleasurable. You are being upgraded and incorporated into the Cyberiad."

"Get out of my head!" The Doctor cried.

"Oh, this is brilliant!" He sang. "I'm so clever already, what a brain! I could call myself Mr. Clever. So much data... who is River?" He asked again.

"No one that you're allowed to know about."

"Ohh, too late old man. A wife! You have a wife. Naughty, naughty old man what have you been up to with her? Quite a lot... oh that's just fascinating. A baby, huh? You're so thick."

"Thick?"

"You left your pregnant wife all alone with me on the loose. Ohh, she's going to get what's coming to her."

"You. Will. Not. Touch. Her." The Doctor growled.

"Oh yes I will! And there's no way for you to stop me, Timelord." Mr. Clever spat.

"...Do you play chess?"

 

* * *

 

"Uh, ma'am?" One of the men, well really more like boys, he was a bit young to be in an army, even a half real one. He adjusted his glasses. "Mary said she saw something. And then she went quiet."

River didn't have time to acknowledge the loss of the girl, "It's on it's way then. Weapons, show me." River ordered, pacing a bit anxiously. She was trying her best, really trying to ignore the pain from her back that had started moving more to her middle. She denied it of course, telling herself that it was just a back ache, a reaction to the stress, one of those, both of those, it didn't matter. "Only one gun?" She asked as he led her to the boxes.

"Cybermen have been extinct for a thousand years. Even one anti-Cyber gun is a miracle." It was the former captain again. The woman kept popping up and frankly, River was starting to dislike her.

She wasn't paying attention much as the woman explained about the hand pulsers, taking a few breaths as not to make any noise at the pian passing through her again. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. "And that? Don't tell me." She said sarcastically, pointing to a device. "It blows up the planet.

"Implodes it. There's a trigger unit. And it activates on my voice code."

"I'll take that." River held out her hand, taking the trigger. "And you will not activate this bomb without a direct order from me."

She looked rather cross as she nodded and left in a storm.

"What about medical supplies. Are we good on those?"

"We've only got one first aid kit." Said the boy soldier.

"Not enough..." River muttered.

"Is someone hurt?" He asked timidly.

"No." She answered. Only a back ache, nothing more. It had to be.

 

* * *

 

"Don't shoot, don't shoot! I'm nice!" The Doctor held the chess board in front of his face as if it would stop the guns from being pointed at him. "River!" He exclaimed as she half ran half waddled up to him. "You haven't let them blow up the planet, good job."

"Did you get Leah?" River asked immediately. "What's going on?"

"Um... sort of." A guilty look crossed his face. "Okay hang on," He said defensively at her glare. "Good news is: I kidnapped the Cyber Planner and am in control of it right now... bad news is that it's in my head." This didn't make her any more calm. "And different bad news. Leah is... well it's complicated."

"Complicated how." She looked about ready to bite his head off.

"Complicated... as in walking coma." He hid behind the chess board again as River's eyes grew wide.

She ran up to her daugher, gasping at the cybernetic attachment. "Oh no, no, no. My girl, my baby girl..." She growled at her husband, half in furry half looking like she might burst into tears again. "Please tell me there's a way to fix this or so help me I will shoot you right now."

"Hope so..."

"Hope so? Hope so?! Doctor this is our daughter, I'm going to need better that 'hope so'!" She snapped.

"Well in other news there are more reactivated Cybermen on the way and the Cyber Planner is installing a patch for the gold thing... No wait that's bad news isn't it? But I have a good chance of winning my chess match!"

"What?!"

"I'll explain later. Someone get me a table. And tie me up!"

\------------------

"Right, that's good. Can't move except for my hands." He said as River tightened the rope around him.

"You're playing chess with yourself? " She said coldly, still cross with him and not against tying him up due to the former.

"And winning." He ripped off the golden ticket and his whole body went stiff. River jumped back is surprise.

"Actually," This voice was not the same man who she was talking with before. "He has no more better than a 25% chance of winning. Fantastic. You must be the famous River. I'm the Cyber Planner."

"...Doctor?" River said, clenching her teeth as to not sound like she was in pain. No matter how cross she was at him, she really need the Doctor here right now.

"Afraid not. I'm working the mouth now. Allons-y! Oh, you should see the state of these neurons. There' so much information!"

"You aren't the Doctor."

"No but I know who you are. You're the woman who died. Oh, he's very interested in you."

"Died?" The 'interested' part didn't surprise her, she was his wife after all, but died? She wasn't dead. "What do you mean? I'm not dead."

"Oh didn't he tell you, the sly devil." Mr. Clever rambled something about spare parts and making a ship that they could all leave on.

"What, more Cybermen? You'll be stopped. The Doctor will stop you." She glanced down, seeing that he was writing something: hit me.

"He can't even manage the lips." Her hand stopped the rest of his words, meeting his cheek with a loud slap.

"OW! Ow!" The Doctor held his face. "Ow, that hurt! No stop, bit of pain, neural suge, just what I needed, thank you."

"Why am I the woman who died?" She demanded, ready to slap him again.

"Oh it's just a thing in my head, I'll explain later." He wouldn't of course. He could never tell her that.

"Chess game, stakes?"

"If he wins, I give up my mind and he gets access to everything, including time travel. But if I win, he'll break his promise to get out of my head and then kill us all anyways."

"Doctor, you idiot!"

"Yes, I know."

"Can you fix Leah, at least give me that much!"

"Leah, yeah, she's fine I mean her brain is just in standby mode." He was talking very quickly at this point.

"That is not fine!" She yelled.

"Listen. Right now she has a better chance than you do of making out of here alive."

She stepped back. "Which one of you said that?"

"Mr. Clever. Now if you don't mind, I have a chess came to finish and you have to die, pointlessly." He pushed her away with his finger. "Toodle Oo."

River left the room as quickly as she could. She could stand to be in there any longer and she didn't want anyone to see her breakdown. She leaned on the wall out side the door, sinking to the floor, clutching her middle in pain as her waters broke.

 

* * *

 

"River!" It was Porridge who found her on the floor. It had been hours, enough that day was breaking outside and the fluid around her legs had dried. He was holding a cup of beans for her, but put them down and went to her side. "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded, though remained silent.

"You don't look very okay... are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." She exhaled.

He offered her the beans but she declined. "River, are you sure you're okay. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, especially with a little one at risk too"

Before she could answer, there was a call from the other room. "Hey, River!"

"I'll see what he wants." She quickly left him. "Keep me informed on changes in the Cybermen!"

The Doctor wiggled his hands excitedly, "River, there you are. Now, quick rundown. What's our weapon strength?"

She did her best to keep her voice level, hoping he wouldn't notice how hard she was gripping the table. "One big gun, five hand pulsers, and a bomb that blows up the planet."

"Yeah, yeah. That one. Now, tell me, does it happen to have a remote trigger-y thing?" River held up the trigger.

"Brilliant pass it here."

"No."

"Why?"

"In case you're not you right now. Or if you are, just in case." She gave him a skeptical look.

"Oh don't worry, the Cyber Planner's hibernating between moves right now." He put a finger to his lips to say they should be quiet.

"Prove you're you." She insisted. "Tell me something only the Doctor knows. Tell me your name."

He blinked at her. "You I can never speak that."

"Oh, but I already know it. You told me. So tell me now. What's your name?"

"Is the Doctor not good enough for you? The healer, the wiseman. Really, it doesn't matter because whatever name I have," He leaned close to her. "I'm still all yours River. Whatever you call me, I'm still the man who fell in love with-"

A loud thwack sounded through the room as she slapped him again.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ah, yes. It's me. That really hurt! How did you know it was him?"

"Because you'd never say something that stupidly sappy while we're in a fatal situation, you daft man. Now finish your game!"

He grabbed her arm as she pulled away, so hard it hurt. "Doctor, let go!"

"I can't." He panicked. "He's got control of the left arm!" He wrenched the trigger from her grasp and smashed it. "He... he got what he wanted. My move."

"What do you mean he got what he wanted?"

"He means, good news boys and girls." River stepped back, more terrified that she had been when she came into the room. "They're here!"

River ran onto the balcony, looking out over the hundreds of silver men surrounding the park. Completely panicked, she ducked behind the wall, the other soldiers looking at her distressed. "W-what are we going to do?" The boy-like one asked.

"Who's our best shot?" She would have done it herself but she new her hands would shake with pain. She had other things she needed to focus on.

"Me, I think." He replied, taking the large gun from her.

"Shoot any that make it across. Take defensive positions." She ordered.

She couldn't hold back a groan as the troops moved out, earning a more than concerned look from Porridge.  "Porridge?"

"Yeah?"

"Get the first aid kit."

 

* * *

 

She stumbled into the room her husband was tied up in, hardly able to fight against the pain anymore. She could hear gunshots and yelling from the courtyard. The fight against the Cyberiad had begun, and her baby couldn't have chosen a worse time to come. She all but collapsed to the floor, unable to stand.

"Kid. Back. Now." The Doctor demanded, talking to Mr. Clever and Leah fell on the floor, a moment later standing with an extremely confused expression.

"Emotions, Doctor! Can't you see what a stupid move that was? All for one little child. Tell me. How do you think her death will affect your relationship with your wife?"

Both River and the Doctor's head snapped up, River to her daughter and the Doctor to his wife whom he hadn't noticed come in. Porridge entered with the bomb and first aid kit, starting at the whole scene.

The Cyber Wibbly blinked at Leah. "Welcome to Wibbly's world of wonders, child. Now presenting delights, delicacies, and death."

"Daddy!" Leah cried, and Porridge sprung into action, hitting Wibbly with a hand pulsar.

"Leah, dearie, are you okay? Just look after your mother, okay?" The Doctor didn't know what was going on with River, but it didn't look good. "Your move, but just so you know, sacrificing my queen was the best possible move I could have made. The Timelords invented chess. It's our game and if you don't avoid my trap, it's mate in three moves!"

"How?"

River cried out in pain, her back arching,

"How?"

Leah and Porridge were at her side, her yells not ceasing.

"How?!"

"You call yourself a chess playing robot. Hey, you figure it out. Or don't you have the processing power?"

The noise from outside stopped.

"What are you doing?"

"Doctor. DoctorDoctorDoctorDoctorDoctorDoctorDoctorDoctor! Three million Cybermen working on one chess problem. How long do you think it will take to solve now?"

"That's cheating!" He growled.

"No, it's pulling in the local resources. There's no way it's possible."

"Do you really want to know? One: turn on sonic screwdriver. Two: activare pulser. Three: amplify pulser." He laughed, doing each action as he said them. "See ya." He forced the pulser to his face, his body shaking with the electric shock.

"That's cheating!" Mr. Clever yelped and then he was gone.

"Just useing the local resources." He straightened his bowtie. "Someone untie me!"

Porridge approached him. "How do I know it's you?"

"Just shut up, I need to get to River!"

He shrugged. "Good enough."

"All the Cybermen are about to wake up and kill us all then construct a spaceship! We need to destroy the planet, but the trigger to the bomb is broken!" Free from his bonds, he rushed to his wife's side.

"I-it has a voice default." River managed to say, the pressure on her cervix verging unbearable. "But sh-she's dead."

"Ask Porridge." Leah said. She was scared, and holding her mother's hand more for her own comfort than River's, but said it as bravely as she could. "'Cause he's the king. He might know."

The Doctor looked between her and the man in question. "How do you know?

"He looks like the statute and the coin. Right?" The girls looked at Porridge

"She's right... I'm the emperor."

"So you can save us?" The Doctor demanded. "Please... I have to protect my family, River. ...We need to get her somewhere safe. There isn't any other way."

"Doctor..." Porridge began to say

"Three million Cybermen will wreck havoc on the universe unless you stop it."

"The bomb, the throne, it's all connected. I just have to say this is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cordlongstaf th 41st, defender of humanity, Imperator of known space. Activate the desolator." The bomb lit up. "And it's done."

They weren't listening to the last bit about being transported to the state room, the Doctor focusing on his labouring wife. He felt incredibly guilty for not leaving when she'd first requested to.

And all of a sudden they were in a marble room. "There's a large blue box at coordinate 6-Ultra-19-P. I need it transmitted up here right away."

Porridge watched as the planet exploded in front of their eyes but the only thing the Doctor saw was his wife's face contort in pain. She was unconsciously pushing a little, her body kicking into auto pilot to force the baby out of her. The Doctor was still at her side as the emperor went on about enjoying not being the ruler of a thousand galaxies. "I would propose to you, River, if you weren't already married." He stepped off his throne. "How is she doing?"

"This baby isn't going to wait much longer and I don't think we can make it back to the TARDIS in time." The Doctor muttered, allowing River to crush his hand.

"What's wrong with her? Is mummy gonna be okay?" Leah tugged on Porridge's jacket.

He patted her head. "Yeah. Your little brother or sister is on the way is all." He looked back at the Doctor. "She said she was fine. I kept asking her and she kept saying she was fine."

"Yeah... She does that." River cried out again, her breathing heavy and strained. The Doctor hooked his arms beneath her and lifted her, holding her close to his body. "I need a medbay, a bedroom, anywhere we can go." He looked a the emperor pleadingly.

"There's a medbay, but it's on the other side of the ship."

"We don't have enough time to go there. What's closest to us?" He was already walking, Porridge and Leah in toe.

"Well that would be the guard's quarters."

"Good enough." Porridge lead them briskly to the mentioned room, going into the nearest bedroom and ordering for someone to get the nurses here.

The room as empty of people, with two cots and two dressers. The Doctor, as carefully as he could, set River down on one of the beds, though she still winced. She still had his jacket lapels in a death grip, which shifted to having his hand in a death grip instead. "Doctor.... I n-need to... to push. Now." Her voice was shaking, partly with exhaustion and partly with agony.

"How long will the nurses be?" He asked urgently.

Porridge shrugged. "At least ten minutes if they run."

He looked back down at River, who shook her head. She couldn't wait that long. "Porridge, take Leah somewhere please. Get her some food." The man nodded and took the girl, knowing they need the privacy.

The Doctor shifted so he was between River's legs after stacking pillows to support her back and making sure there was a sheet covering her legs. "Oh, that's-... okay... um." He looked up from where he was, "River, you're already really close. I can see a bit of it's head."

A noise somewhere between a sob and a groan escaped her causing him to look up. There was an amount of distress in her expression, mixed with the pain. He rubbed her leg comfortingly and she only whimpered. "I don't th-think I can do this, Doctor. I can't-... It wasn't su-supposed to happen like this."

"I know, love, I know." It wasn't like when Leah was born. It wasn't peaceful or controlled and they weren't ready. "Look at me, River. You can do this, you can. I know we're not home and I know you're scared, but you can do this. You're going to have to push now, and I promise it's going to be okay. Right now our baby needs you."

Still full of doubt, she took a breath and bore down with a contraction, "Uunh!" She gripped a fist full of the bedsheets, clenching her teeth with the pain and squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe it was because she hadn't done this in nearly four years, or that she wasn't in warm soothing water, but this seemed to hurt much more than she remembered.

"Good, River." She fell back against the pillows sucking in what air she could. "Again." River shouted and he could've sworn that he heard concerned whispered of guards from outside the door.

River's face was red and her hearts were pounding in her chest from the effort she was exerting. Each new pain that seized her body brought another groan or cry of pain and the more the baby's head crowned, the louder River's sounds became.

Her shouts were closer to screams by the time they heard the nurses finally approaching the room. River was fighting hard against the sharp pain, her pleads for relief dripping with exhaustion. Sweat glistened on her forehead, her whole body tensing as the next contraction rolled through her. The Doctor's encouragements were soft and quiet against her harsh cries, but a constant stream of 'you're doing so well' and 'you're so strong, you can do this'. He was supporting the baby's now fully emerged head, but was somewhat pushed out of the way by nurses before he could check that things were okay. Guiding the birth of his child was now out of his hands. He replaced himself, so he was sitting behind River, still determined to be useful, but not at all willing to leave. She was immediately crushing his hands and he took note of the fact that they were also trembling.

He was vaguely aware of a nurse asking her to resume pushing, all of his focus on his wife, all his cues from her. He leaned forward with her when she bore down and murmured encouragements in to her ear as she screamed, he acted as support for her to lean against between moments of pain and tension, and kissed her cheeks after especially strong contractions that brought her to the brink of tears.

He felt it before he saw it, felt her grip on his hands loosen and her shoulders slump against him before he saw her expression soften into an almost peaceful one. Her eyes were closed and her screams ceased, thought her breathing still rather heavy. It felt like it had been hours, but it couldn't have been more than one, and a brief panic rushed through him as he feared she'd actually passed out from exhaustion. He looked up to the nurses, panic fading at their calm looks. He curiously waited for a moment as the one between River's legs brought her hands up from their previously position, holding a pink and wiggling creature.

That's when he heard the most beautiful sound the universe had to offer. The baby mewled, a small, almost whimper before letting out a high pitched and unhappy wail. The child was placed quickly on River's chest along with a blanket. To his relief her eyes were open, now, staring at the crying baby. River's hands went to place over the little boy and he quieted some under his mother's warm touch. The Doctor's hands followed, resting on River's. Both parents were stunned into silence, just staring until River let out a gasp. A small gasp as if she'd been holding her breath, followed by a smile wide enough to split her face. "Doctor..." She breathed. "We are not calling him Doctor Jr."

He chuckled and kissed the side of her head. "How about... Aiden?"

"Aiden Song." River said, stroking the baby's cheek. "I love it."

 

* * *

 

There was a knock on the door and Porridge poked his head inside the medical suite. River had been moved there about an hour ago upon insistence from the medical staff.

"Come in." She said, looking up to see him come in with Leah following behind.

Leah immediately ran up to the side of her bed, peering her head over the side. "Mummy, you're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay, love." She patted the bed as invitation for Leah to climb up. The girl settled into her mother's side, looking up curiously at the bundle in her arms.

"Leah, I want you to meet someone." She lowered the bundle to Leah could see what was inside. "This is Aiden. He's your brother."

Leah stared for a long moment before reaching up and lightly poking the sleeping baby's cheek. "He's really small."

"Yes, babies always start out small, but soon he'll grow to be big and strong like you." She told her.

"Can I hold him?" Leah asked.

River nodded, slowly shifting Aiden into the girl's arms, keeping her own arms around her so she wouldn't drop him.

"Hello." Leah said to him. "I'm your big sister." The title made her feel proud. "I'm gonna show you how to ride a bike and draw things and play dress up. And if you get scared of the monsters under the bed, you can wake me up and I'll scare them off with my big sister powers."

Aiden shifted in his sleep, gurgling slightly. She looked up at River. "I'm gonna be a really good big sister." She promised.

"The best big sister in the universe." River agreed, sleepily.

The Doctor had long ago fell asleep in a near by chair, soon after the baby had, but River couldn't. She couldn't stop looking at her new baby and she beamed at Leah's reaction to having a little brother.

"Mummy?"

"Yes?" She held her a bit closer.

"We don't hafta go back to the spacy zoomer place, do we? I don't like it there."

"No." River chuckled. "We don't."

 

 


End file.
